Book Review: On the Road

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(Last revisited in August, 2004)

On the Road has shown me many sides of America that I’ve never seen. More to the point, however, it makes me want to see it for myself. The flustered, hurried, constant pace of Kerouac’s epic expresses even better than his words how “Beats” lived, lived, lived. The way this novel was written also adds to the can’t-stop-gotta-move-don’t-want-to-miss-anything itch — it was typed on 35 m of paper in a 21-day marathon — all at once, so Kerouac didn’t have time to forget details or leave things out.

My favorite line comes nearly 100 pages into the story, when Sal leaves Terry, his Spanish senorita. She gives him a kiss, then “We turned at a dozen paces, for love is a duel, and looked at each other for the last time.” It’s such a simple sentence, but it so perfectly, so eloquently describes one of the most complex human emotions.

The “scroll,” as the first draft of On the Road is often called, was bought (for $3.1 million) by Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, but has spent a lot of time on display for the general public. Irsay has sent it back on the road from which it came. The 13-stop, four-year tour ended in 2007 at the New York public library, and I'm very sorry to report I wasn't there to see it.



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